Random Task

[acourvil]

I was able to pick up a Ken Onion Random Task recently, and I said that I would do a review of the Random Task, so here goes. First, a few pics:

This is a highly utilitarian knife that fits the hand well and cuts like a dream. It has good balance, and efficient lines. Out of the box, the Kershaw Random Task was a bit tight; the pivot needed to be loosened slightly, and I lubricated it with Miltec. After that, it pops open like any SpeedSafe knife. I think that the thumb stud could have been placed better: at least with my hand, you have to work the stud a bit and push harder than I like to get it to open. Fit and finish in general is very good; this is clearly a premium production knife.

The KO custom version has slightly better balance and more elegant lines. It also opens more smoothly. The thumbstud is slightly smaller, and looks like it is a tiny bit more forward on the blade. Although it's difficult to say how the small differences effect the opening, there clearly is a difference. And overall, you can tell from the feel and operation of the custom that Ken paid a lot of attention to every little detail when he made the knife.

The Kershaw has one feature that I like better than the KO custom: grooves in the thumb ramp on the back of the knife. Both the Kershaw version and the custom version have a handle shape that makes it easy to grip and would probably prevent slipping in all but the most extreme cases, but the added grooves provide just a bit more traction for the grip.

I'm very happy to have this pair of knives

 

[svrider3]

Nice score!! :thumbup:

Just wondering, did your Kershaw Random Task come from the factory
with the black clip? That's the 1st black clip I've seen on Random Task.

 

[RxEnergy]

Nice review! Congrats on scoring both versions.
I was able to find the ST version of Random Task (but my eyes are wide open for a PE). Can't wait for it to get here this coming week.

 

[PG5768]

Thanks for posting a review and pictures of your new knife. Very nice photography. It looks like a lot of hand work went in to the finish of the KO compared to the Kershaw. Congratulations on "winning" a beautiful knife.

 

[SPXTrader]

Very nice! In the third pic, is the spine thinner on the Onion than it is on Kershaw's? Or is it the camera angle?

The Onion does appear to have an overall sleeker appearance!

Congrats!

 

[PG5768]

The one thing I notice from the pictures is how well the factory Random Task compares to the custom. It looks like close to 98% of the custom. Does it seem that close to you acourvil?

 

[acourvil]

Just wondering, did your Kershaw Random Task come from the factory with the black clip? That's the 1st black clip I've seen on Random Task.

This one was sold to me as "mint like-new condition," and it came with the black clip. There are some wear marks on the clip, although that could be from moving around in the box during shipping/storage/etc. But it came with the balck clip when I received it.

In the third pic, is the spine thinner on the Onion than it is on Kershaw's? Or is it the camera angle?

I think it's a little of both. The spine on the Kershaw looks like .127 at the thumbstud, and the KO custom looks like .122. At the point of the stand-off in the frame, the frame gap is .155 for the Kershaw, but only .133 for the KO custom. I think that the wider gap in the frame is accenting the difference in the blade width.

The one thing I notice from the pictures is how well the factory Random Task compares to the custom. It looks like close to 98% of the custom. Does it seem that close to you acourvil?

It's a very good copy, although in the hand there are definite differences. It's close enough that if I handed them to my wife, I think that the only thing that she would notice immediately (without prompting) would be the different logos. The proportions of the handle are slightly different, and so is the shape of the blade. I also think there is some difference in "balance" or the way it feels in your hand. I think that someone who has handled custom knives could easily tell which was custom and which was production. So I think I would say 90%, but it is still a very, very good production version of a custom knife.

 

[jonnymac44]

Very nice score Acourvil!:thumbup:

Beautiful knife. I have a couple Kershaw Random Tasks and it would be sweet to own a custom as well.

Polished G-10 is just about the sweetest handle material ever

 

[PG5768]

It's a very good copy, although in the hand there are definite differences. It's close enough that if I handed them to my wife, I think that the only thing that she would notice immediately (without prompting) would be the different logos. The proportions of the handle are slightly different, and so is the shape of the blade. I also think there is some difference in "balance" or the way it feels in your hand. I think that someone who has handled custom knives could easily tell which was custom and which was production. So I think I would say 90%, but it is still a very, very good production version of a custom knife.

Thanks for the comparison. As a novice knife collector I probably couldn't tell the difference, but I can dream of owning one so I could learn to tell. I'll be content with my Kershaw Random Task for now.